Kepnock Residents Action Group (KRAG) in Bundaberg, Queensland | Community organisation

Kepnock Residents Action Group (KRAG)

Locality: Bundaberg, Queensland

Phone: +61 7 4151 4178

Address: 24 Scherer Bvd 4670 Bundaberg, QLD, Australia

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25.01.2022 Well it seems the 4 year anniversary of the original Shopping Centre approval did not just slip into oblivion as we guessed. There's now a development application for the "reconfiguration of a lot" - subdividing the big lot - into two lots. This is as much as we know as there is no data (Council document uploaded) The approved shopping centre plan shows the whole lot - Lot 900 SP261837 - in white. The approval for the extension of approval is upload 4. Upload 5 admits the application is contra the new Town Plan - but justifies this size on the information there-in. It's YOUR community, YOUR environment and economic future. Make your own determination as to whether we need a shopping centre bigger than Sugarland - in, on and over a drain spewing into the heritage listed Wetlands - with more and - still more - shops. .

25.01.2022 Just a very positive upload - while you are pondering the Baldwin Environmental saga- welcome to Bundaberg Today - now re-connecting our somewhat dis-connected COVID-No Print media - world. Good value. Good read, Congratulations to the Editor and Team - plus all those advertising to get their message out - and support this new local business. Love the feel of that local paper YAY!!!

25.01.2022 A regional aquatic facility - and the future development of Anzac Park - have been on the drawing board for the past 3 decades. They still are. These are projects which require funds from other levels of Government because they are positive economic multipliers for the region. Ratepayers can't fund such expensive infrastructure - and shouldn't have to, either. Where, when and at what cost? They have been the moving bits of these jigsaw puzzles.

25.01.2022 If you care about the environment - or even how your Council respects your wishes and performs its task- and you can't get down to the Wetlands to check out how they have transformed the environment down there - take a quick look at the result - as it was 2 weeks ago.

25.01.2022 With retail in such dire straits and, they say - the worst still to come - this probably is the tip of the ice-berg. People are asking whether the recent roadworks on Kepnock Road and the lights at Que Hee street mean the approved Kepnock Shopping Centre is now on the move. That will be a commercial decision by any would-be developer who buys the site and the approval that goes with it. They'd be rather brave if you think about the number of empty shops - especially in the CBD frame - , how so many of our traditional shopping centres have become deserted models of a by-gone day - and whether our region needs a regional shopping centre bigger than 6 blocks of our CBD. Guess it will be what it will be!!!

24.01.2022 Council has turned this part of our Environmental Park into a a high impact industrial, commercial site with heavy truck movement. They would demand, of anyone else, that this type of commercial operation must be an Environmentally Relevant Activity (ERA)- in an industrial zone, with appropriate measures to protect the public from heavy machinery movement.

24.01.2022 Some more positive news. So welcome. So good for our community to have an independently owned and operated local news-paper to continue connecting us all as a regional community. Get on board and show them how much this service has been missed - and how much it is needed.

23.01.2022 And here's more - great initiative achieving goals set by successive Councils in the past 40 years.

22.01.2022 Is this what we want to see in our Environmental Park - near our pedestrian "Green" Corridor to the Coast?. Where does the responsibility lie? It becomes a Council (read that as ratepayer) liability. The traffic will NOT be standard size vehicles.

22.01.2022 Margaret Strelow is well known to those of us who have had a long and personal involvement in Local Government in Queensland. Her resignation comes as a shock to all. It raises the question which we have asked, based on some issues here. What is, and what is not misconduct and are the investigative agencies effective in how they determine outcomes from complaints? We don't have the answers - but continue to ask the questions.

21.01.2022 From to-day's Council meeting - still no Councillor speaking on planning matters!!! Most people are comfortable with 5 storeys down there but, with certain approvals, and possible future development applications ( in excess of 5-6 storeys) still "sitting in the wings" - we can expect Council to develop a "softly-softly" approach for the current limits down there to be increased in the name of "progress". "Don't you worry about that " - we will all be told - the new "turtle sensitive" requirements for developers will make sure that 9 storeys- 50m from the waterfront - creates no detriment to the sensitive coastal environment, the fauna, the flora - or the village lifestyle that is the biggest attraction for locals and tourists alike.

21.01.2022 Check out the site after Councils' dozers completed their job at the Baldwin Environmental Park .

19.01.2022 How sad for Local Government in Queensland! This should be compulsory reading for us all. Thumbs up for the local Member Joanne Miller who fought for so long- and endured personal victimisation from many directions - in her decade long fight to get someone to do something about the endemic dictatorial culture (now exposed as corrupt) of the Ipswich Council. Dishonesty at any level in Government cannot be condoned and must be exposed. But, as Ipswich shows - no one wanted to listen - for years. Has anything changed???

18.01.2022 The 2nd. November 2020 slipped quietly into oblivion. Four years since this approval but the site remains vacant. The approval has been extended until 2024, with a $1m discount on infrastructure charges - but it is now a different shopping centre- the underground car-park is no longer IN the drain, but beside it, there are still two supermarkets (COLES & ?), a larger service station at the top of what the locals called "the gully" and some speciality shops. The flawed storm...-water report is still 7.9ha short of the formal catchment area, and the entry point for all the commercial run-off remains Baldwin Wetlands at a point now identified as being locally heritage listed. The site, the approval and the now extended version have either been sold to a third party to develop - or still siting in limbo- as traditional shopping centres, globally, face a death-knell, forced by changed consumer demand, increased on-line - and, of course COVID. See more

18.01.2022 Wasn't a Councillor at that time - but don't rule out the forced amalgamation in that year of Gooburrum and Woongarra Shires. That created Burnett Shire and turned Bundaberg City into a dough-nut Council forced to deliver all key infrastructure - without funding. That forced amalgamation didn't work then- any more than the one in 2008 which created the Regional Council - which has 10 kingdoms with different needs and lacks an overall regional vision. Opinions will differ.

16.01.2022 Council's next meeting - as per Preliminary Agenda. Item Nos 6, 7K1 and 9Q1 are particularly relevant. Councillors cannot be expected to have all the answers. Ratepayers employ professionals to advise their elected representatives. Councillors (The Council) develop policy - the CEO (professional staff) are employed under contract to implement those policies. Those staff are obligated to keep Councillors updated on the status of that implementation. Councillors (The Council)... are entitled to honest advice, direction and full disclosure. They are the officially elected Board of Directors. If an earlier Board Decision needs reviewing the professional staff have an obligation to advise Councillors (The Council). The fall-out of Belcarra does not change that basic Local Government tenet. - even though some might assert that it does. As interested parties work their way through the Baldwin Swamp Environmental Ombudsman's Report - this basic concept should be front and centre. See more

16.01.2022 Further to the previous upload we refer to the Ombudsman's statement that the CEO informed them "Council has not used, and is currently not using Lot 5 for storage purposes". The Ombudsman agrees - Page 4 - that we have provided evidence that refutes the CEO's claims. We provide the photos which allow interested parties to make their own decision.

16.01.2022 With 2020 now galloping to a close we have been asked for an update on the proposed shopping centre. We attach the story - as far as we know. The history being written here will continue in 2021 We all pray that 2021 will be a better year for all communities - not just ours and that common sense will ensure future commercialisation of that land abutting FEWalker Street will be reduced to ensure the environment and sense of community is not destroyed forever.

16.01.2022 As the year closes we re-iterate that we have NEVER opposed commercialisation of the land abutting FEWalker Street, but what has been approved is environmentally and economically unsustainable. A local centre - like Olsens - would by now have been a thriving commercial and convenient hub - provided the Drain was treated like the one in Belle Eden - not built in, on and over. The new home owners grant would have ensured lovely homes around it, lots of jobs for our local tradi...es and associated home-centre businesses. Perhaps commercial greed in 2021, coupled with increasing on-line detriment to bricks and mortar business - will not be the key determinant of what happens here. We live in hope that common sense will prevail and that future generations will not end up with a regional shopping centre here creating environmental, amenity and economic detriment to the region. See more

16.01.2022 We totally support the Mayor's initiative to plant "one million trees". Trees (in his words) do "enhance our environment" and "increase liveability of this beautiful area". This media shows Baldwin Swamp. It was here that Council sent the dozers (June, 2019) to clear 80 yr old growth timbers from 3ha of the Baldwin Swamp Environmental Park - to turn it into a heavy impact industrial Council DUMP. Please take the time to read the Council's 1million trees media . Then compare the words to the actions in the last upload. Actions speak louder than words .

15.01.2022 Further to our previous uploads about the CEO authorised bull-dozing of the 3ha of 80 year old trees in our Baldwin Environmental Park we provide, as we said we would, a separate upload about that history. It is provided in separate uploads, over time, so our community can wrap their heads around the various aspects of it. How could such a thing happen???. We ask you to make up your own mind about the process, the result, the publicly stated future and how the actions were ...explained to the many people who protested.about this environmental vandalism. In forming your opinion you need to weigh it up against Council's commitment to consultation, community and their publicly professed respect for our environment. Also relevant is how Council explained it all to statutory investigative agencies, who later investigated it - at the insistence of the public. See more

13.01.2022 As the earlier videos showed - healthy activities, safe access, freedom of movement. Now check out what we have. This is NOT progress - this is a trip back to the 60's and 70's

12.01.2022 In the preceding 4 years, since the approval - then the extension of the changed approval - our region has seen more and more empty shops - especially in our CBD, satellite shopping centres and then local neighbourhood shopping centres. Apart from traffic gridlock (the site is land-locked, and always has been) the biggest problem was always storm- water, although we haven't seen too much of that in more recent times.

11.01.2022 For interested parties who might want to align this saga to time-lines - this is a pictorial time-line. It is preparatory to uploading the Ombudsman's Report so that it is more easily understood by all.

09.01.2022 Community outrage about Council (i) bull-dozing all those trees - as per previous uploads- (ii) about the series of events that followed - and (iii) the stated events still to happen - has people asking why Council has not been made publicly accountable. Basically - how can they get away with this???,This upload is prefaced by two Council documents which Councillors commit to upholding.

09.01.2022 "Was the site and the approval sold"? asks someone. Can only go on what's publicly available - the subdivision is happening in JANAM's name on the Council document. However the changed approval was obtained by them "on behalf of a third party" - at the time. This is not unusual - with the owner having to jump all the hurdles to secure the sale of the site - and approval - by a third party. Happened with Masters- they got their land, stared down legal challenges from 2 comme...rcial entities and 105 residents, and then got a Ministerial approval, despite the Town Plan. Masters then bought the land and approval from the owner, who did all the operational works. A month after the operational works were completed Masters went bust. That little exercise cost Woolies shareholders $8.8m - but others did well out of it. The vacant, grass-less building pad remains to-day- as does the left-over stockpile of soil, which the owner has always refused to move - despite the conditions of his approval. See more

08.01.2022 As 2020 draws to a close with the summer solstice now with us, we would all agree, this has been a very different, and difficult, year. Yes we have become the capital of Australia in many things we would choose not to be - unemployment, disability and aged, the cashless card, social vulnerability BUT some things never change. For those who have been heavily involved in the social issues of Bundaberg - for a long time - Bundaberg has always been very "self-help" - and generous. The latter, it seems, hasn't changed despite the pressures of time.

07.01.2022 We preface this upload by stating we have checked it is OK for us to report back to the community via this Fb page. To protect privacy we have removed the name of the investigator who dealt with this complaint. At all times we were treated with courtesy and respect. Although marked "confidential" - the document is ours. That means it's YOURS if you live here "cos you love it " and want to protect the legacy for future generations. It's also YOURS if you believe in the State...ment of Community Vision and Values developed by our community Please read it all carefully and make sure you understand the previously uploaded time-lines, the processes and the public comments of the CEO prior to the investigation. It should be compulsory reading for those who own residential A land and want to do things other than build homes. Forget that it's Council because they are both the land-owner and assessment manager. There are RULES - and they apply to us all See more

06.01.2022 As interested parties continue to mull over the facts about Council's treatment of the Baldwin Environmental Park, we respond to a question from one such interested party. Question: You have stated that Council did not investigate alternative sites for their Environmental Park dump . Council is stating otherwise, as confirmed by their formal media release. Who is correct?

06.01.2022 On just one day Australians are faced with not just such significant failures- but criminal failures - of Australia's oldest Bank, and one of Queensland most well known Councils. The institutions of banking and Local Government show that investigative agencies need to listen better and act sooner. Has the Aussie culture been overwhelmed by greed and power at these levels???. As these two horrendous instances show - such failures leave many victims, and destroy trust in the institutions on which our nation was built.

05.01.2022 Sometimes a picture says a thousand words. This is a photo taken of the Drain where ducks were swimming during the 2013 flood. The Centre will be built over it, as shown in Upload 2. The drain over-topped the Main Road in a storm on 17th November 2013 - but not in the flood. That's the 3 culverts servicing the site now. They will also have to service that Centre. The nearby homes and school are shown. Storm-water cannot be diverted to the old Masters site - All run-off, plus... the water from the 24 homes upstream must be held on the shopping centre site. Without either the Centre or the 24 homes there is a huge volume of water from as far back as Edgar St. That run-off threatened the homes on 17 November, 2013 after the upstream residential development almost doubled the height of the drain on the Aldi side in 2012. Uploads 3,4 &5 show the scene with that storm when, as No. 5 (taken by a Walker St resident) shows - the Main Road, the drain, the park and residential back-yards became an inland lake. See more

05.01.2022 Whilst interested parties are mulling over the facts about the bulldozing of 3ha of trees from our Baldwin Swamp Environmental Park - to establish a new heavy industry Council dump - this could be more palatable. We can't print out the data to provide you with a hard copy version - but will upload the Facts Sheets for both projects. There were rumours that it was going to be the old Masters site - but that area is in a flood prone zone. Traffic gridlock would also be a problem. The choice of site has drawn a few frowns. Why make it all City-centric??? and so close to the Norville Pool - where ratepayers have already provided a Water Park theme.

05.01.2022 We have been asked where interested parties can get a copy of the Environmental Park Management Plan and also the Coastal Hazard Issues Paper. Both items are on the Agenda for the next Council meeting. You need to go back to the AGENDA (NOT the Minutes) of The Council (Yes! the Councillors) Statutory Ordinary Meeting dated 24 July, 2018. You can do this by clicking on the MENU on Councils page, then Council - then Meetings. Select 2018 and then scroll down to the 24 July 2018. Both of them are there. There's a bit of reading - but its worth it.

05.01.2022 No one needs confirmation of this - the world of retail is forever changed as COVID has pushed us all to digital shopping - sooner rather than later, albeit we all had to go there a little reluctantly.

04.01.2022 Further to the previous upload about an application by a third party for the approved site of the proposed Kepnock Shopping Centre we note that nothing has happened yet because that application was "not properly made" - for the reasons we now upload . The land is still owned by JANAM P/L.. The application is probably to subdivide the area of land on which the Centre was approved. We will upload further information as it is available

04.01.2022 Christmas wishes for 2020. Wishing our supporters - and critics - a healthier, safer and more-normal 2021. ENJOY, and thanks for your ongoing support of the Bundaberg Region. We live here "cos we love it"

04.01.2022 Council is to-day deliberating the most recent request by JANAM and/or the THIRD PARTY considering buying the approval and the site for the Kepnock Shopping Centre . Councillors have previously determined that this development - with all its infrastructure deficits- is eligible for a ratepayer funded discount of $1million We understand this is about business. It's about the developer making a profit. Neither should over-rule common sense and environmental protection. Here are the facts. Make up your own mind

01.01.2022 Here's hoping that 2021 is a better year for us all. Good health, common sense and some good Council planning decisions. A dedicated planning portfolio Councillor chairperson - or at least a small planning committee - would be a good starting point in 2021....please

01.01.2022 We have uploaded photos of rubble on site early in December, 2019. This shows the site after the dozers left and the uproar started. The original rocks unearthed by the dozers are at the end of the video - to the left.